Travels Through History - Northern Ireland and Scotland

Book excerpt: A series of essays about visits to the murals of West Belfast, the award-winning Titanic Centre, The World Heritage Site of the Giant's Causeway, the seven little-visited stone circles at Beaghmore, and the dramatically situated Dunluce Castle perched high on the cliffs in Antrim in Northern Ireland. There are further stories about the island of Lewis and Harris, Edinburgh, Dryburgh Abbey, and Rosslyn Chapel in Scotland. On Lewis and Harris, I visited the Callanish Stone Circles, the Arnol Blackhouse, and the Dun Carloway broch all of them redolent with history from different eras. In Edinburgh, I walked along the Royal Mile and was astounded at the plants in the Botanical Gardens. I also describe the tranquil Dryburgh Abbey, where Sir Walter Scott is buried, and Rosslyn Chapel, whose many secrets are buried deep in its lavishly decorated interior.